...the candidate selection process by the parties, unlike party quotas in that they are not voluntarily adopted, but rather are legally order quotas that apply to all parties. This is the most contemporary kind of quota system, and only appeared in the 1990s, in developing countries, particularly in Latin America, post-conflict Africa, the Middle East, and across Southeastern Europe. Adoption of these quotas spread rapidly in part due to an active transnational women’s movement, which through information-sharing enabled local organizations, activists and intellectuals to publicize and politicize under representation of women in politics. Such activities and an international pressure on women’s political presence led many women’s organizations to...
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...retreat The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy 2010 Democracy in retreat This is the third edition of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index. It reflects the situation as of November 2010. The first edition, published in The Economist’s The World in 2007, measured the state of democracy in September 2006 and the second edition covered the situation towards the end of 2008. The index provides a snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories—this covers almost the entire population of the world and the vast majority of the world’s independent states (micro states are excluded). The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Countries are placed within one of four types of regimes: full democracies; flawed democracies; hybrid regimes; and authoritarian regimes. Free and fair elections and civil liberties are necessary conditions for democracy, but they are unlikely to be sufficient for a full and consolidated democracy if unaccompanied by transparent and at least minimally efficient government, sufficient political participation and a supportive democratic political culture. It is not easy to build a sturdy democracy. Even in long-established ones, if not nurtured and protected, democracy can corrode. Democracy in decline The global...
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...POLICY BRIEF SUMMARY SHAPING EUROPE’S AFGHAN SURGE Daniel Korski Unnoticed by many, the last few years have seen something of a European military surge in Afghanistan. Since late 2006, 18 of the 25 EU countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO’s Afghan mission, have increased their troop contributions, and as a result EU member states now account for 43% of ISAF’s total deployment. This military surge has been accompanied by a steady growth in European efforts to contribute to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, from development aid to police training – although not every EU member state is pulling its weight. These measures have made the EU a major stakeholder in Afghanistan. Yet the EU’s real impact on the country has been limited. In the face of a likely request from the Obama administration to do more, European governments should now formulate a hard-headed political strategy as a complement to the coming US military surge. Introduction President Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, have made it clear that they expect a significant enhancement of the European effort in Afghanistan. The issue is likely to be viewed in Washington as a litmus test of whether the Europeans can be taken seriously as strategic partners. Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan is likely to include an attempt to “regionalise” the issue, involving some kind of dialogue with Iran and efforts to bring India, the Gulf states and the central Asian...
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...expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or inclusion in any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the World Bank. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA, telephone 978750-8400, fax 978-750-4470, www.copyright.com All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA, fax 202-522-2422, e-mail pubrights@worldbank.org ISBN 0-8213-5038-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data...
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...tradition, waking up early (Franz Josef) many similarities. Lot of conflicts in Europe are still connected to events that happened hundreds of years ago. Poland (republic) Linguistic Group: Western Slavic Religion: Catholic (important part of national identity) Ethnical Minorities: German, Ukraine, Belorussian (small and not important) Often divided (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary) Is called state of wheels always moving We are Poles because we are not Russian, not German religion became very important for their identification. Day 2 Post-Yugoslavia states Tito managed to unify Yugoslavia after WWII and to keep it independent from Russia. self-managed socialism (market orientation). More contact to the west. Authoritarian system but not as closed as the other eastern states. Before he died he passed a new constitution that came into effect after his death. start of decentralization of Yugoslavia. Conflict: movements for more autonomy, different attitudes to possible reforms, many of the states experience first free elections after 1989 neither politicians nor voters were prepared for that, moment of uncertainty, if in such a moment of...
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...Sustained Growth in Central and Eastern Europe * After the state socalism collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, the Washington consensus of 1989 (a broadly accepted set of criteria for a reform program) was adopted as a blueprint for the process of transformation. * Central elements: * Macro-economic stabilization (for countries with significant inflation and indebtedness) * New institutions * Legislation * Price and trade liberalisation * Radical privatization * Most of the “transformatology“ literature is based on the assumption that the elimination of deformed non-market economies, a restoration of market, and private ownership, paired with a laissez-faire free market system would automatically solve all major economic/social problems of the transforming countries. * The economic crisis within the Central and Eastern Europe area started much earlier – in the mid-late 1970s when growth slowed significantly and the terms of trade for the state socialist countries began to deteriorate (1973 first oil shock 20% decline, for some even 26-32%) Schumpeter’s theory of “structural crisis”: advancements in technology lead to decline of the old leading sectors and export branches based on old technology, generating wide-ranging slow-down and decline and causing an economic crisis even in rich, advanced countries. However, although rising new technology led to the emergence of new industries, new leading export sectors...
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...Democracy, Religion and Inequality University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business Bachelor Thesis International Economics and Business Name Student: Yitian Jing Student ID Number: s2012790 Student email: y.jing@student.rug.nl Date Thesis: Jun. 5th, 2012 Name Supervisor: Dr. Robbert K. J. Maseland First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Dr. R. K. J. Maseland, for his academic guidance and encouragement throughout the research. He has been very generous sharing his experiences on institutional and cultural determinants on economy, as well as on academic research methodology and beyond. I would not have finished such a thesis paper without his support. His effort and patience would never be forgotten. Abstract The democracy’s inequality decreasing effect has been appealing to researchers for long but lacks concentrated argumentation and empirical evidence, as well as the interaction between democracy and religion. This paper conduct an empirical analysis covering time period of 1978-2010 with 86 countries to test the hypotheses of whether democracy decreases inequality and whether an egalitarian religion decreases the influence of democracy. The result shows the direct effect of democracy is weak, however, the hypothesis of religion’s effect on the democracy’s influence is partially confirmed. Therefore, democracy itself has minor influence on inequality while a large proportion of the effect is...
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...As individual we are aware what is happening in our nation. There is a lot of problem that our country is facing are and one of the issues that can’t stopped is the Corruption of Government and as a individual as being part of this society we are affective of it. When we look the meaning of corruption in Wikipedia it will gave you this meaning Corruption is the abuse of bestowed power or position to acquire a personal benefit. Some of us choose to accept this because we are blinded of their black propaganda we don’t even think what will be the future of the next generation if we let this people continue to abuse their power. And when we say Governance it is a government is the system by which a state or community is controlled. In the Commonwealth of Nations, the word government is also used more narrowly to refer to the collective group of people that exercises executive authority in a state Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence. ------------------------------------------------- Effects[edit] Effects on politics, administration, and institutions[edit] In politics, corruption undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in the legislature reduces accountability...
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...JCMS 2010 Volume 48 Annual Review pp. 95–118 Institutions and Governance: A New Treaty, a Newly Elected Parliament and a New Commission jcms_2096 95..118 DESMOND DINAN George Mason University Introduction Elections for the European Parliament (EP) and the nomination of a new European Commission made 2009 a particularly important year with regard to European Union institutions and governance. More significant than these five-yearly events, however, was the long-delayed ratification and implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. In June 2009, EU leaders approved a Decision ‘on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon’, which they annexed to the European Council conclusions. They also agreed that ‘at the time of the conclusion of the next accession Treaty [. . .] the provisions of the annexed Decision’ would be included ‘in a Protocol to be attached [. . .] to the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union’ (Council, 2009a). The purpose of the promised Protocol was to facilitate a second referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty and to help ensure a successful outcome. The Irish government soon announced that the referendum would take place on 2 October. The prospect of a favourable result looked bright, thanks to the global economic crisis, which hit Ireland particularly hard. Although ratifying the Treaty would not make a material difference, it would send a positive signal to international investors...
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...Executive Summary: Right to information refers to people’s right to have all the necessary information regarding the political, legal and similar areas which is directly correlated to their daily lives. In Bangladesh, though people have very limited or no information at all due to lack of willingness and ability to obtain the necessary information’s. Thus the general people should look forward how this bridge can be closed between themselves and the government officials to obtain the necessary and rightful information. The technology is advancing day by day throughout the world. Thus obtaining information has become much easier and flexible. Not only the general people but it is also the responsibility of those who are the holders of that information. They are also equally responsible for passing those to the general people with full efficiency and accuracy. Sadly due to the negligence of both parties this information flow is reduced compared to the early days since the nation’s independence in 1971. Lots of problem is faced by the nation’s citizens specially the people who belong to the rural areas. Due to unaware of their own right, thousands of people had faced difficulties on both professional and personal context. Our focus is on the factors of this decreased information flow as well as the initiatives to be taken which can reduce this massive problem in our country. Contents: • Introduction • Theoretical Overview • Findings ...
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...rP os t 9 -7 1 2 -0 3 8 REV: MARCH 12, 2014 LAKSHMI IYER RICHARD H. K. VIETOR India 2014: The Challenges of Governance op yo Introduction In January 2014, India’s government faced significant economic and social challenges. Economic growth rates had slowed from 10.5% in 2010 to only 4.9% in 2013. Inflation remained stubbornly high at 10.1%, despite sustained interest rates of around 10%, and the rupee/dollar exchange rate depreciated from 45 rupees in March 2011 to 62 rupees in December 2013. tC The ruling Congress Party faced worsening political obstacles as well. After the 2009 elections, the government had found it very difficult to enact substantive new legislation, owing to gridlock caused by opposition political parties and the Congress Party’s own coalition partners. A decision to allow foreign investment in retail megastores had been put on hold following objections by the Trinamool Congress, a key political ally.1 In September 2012, legislation was passed to allow foreign investment in multi-brand retail stores in states which agreed to implement the decision. 2 After making more than 100 amendments to satisfy diverse stakeholders, a new Land Act was passed in August 2013 to enable the state to acquire land for industrial growth more efficiently, with increased compensation for landowners.3 No Over the past few years, a series of high-profile corruption scandals had resulted in the resignation of several cabinet ministers and state chief ministers. These scandals...
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...ACKNOWLEDGMENT WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR GRATTITUDE TO DR.ASHOK PANIGRAHI WHOSE STIMULATING SUGGESTIONS AND ENCOURAGEMENT HELPED US TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT CONTENTS 1. Acknowledgment 2. Introduction to Indian economy 3. Meaning of fiscal policy 4. Need & importance of EP 5. Use of fiscal policy by Indian government 6. Fiscal policy before & after liberalization 7. Indian tax system & fiscal policy 8. Role in development of Indian Economy 9. Shortcomings or deficiencies in our fiscal policy 10.Findings & suggestions on Indian fiscal policy ECONOMY OF INDIA The economy of India is the eleventh largest in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country is one of the G-20 major economies and a member of BRICS. On a per capita income basis, India ranked 140th by nominal GDP and129th by GDP (PPP) in 2011, according to the IMF. After the independence-era Indian economy (before and a little after 1947) was inspired by the Soviet model of economic development, with a large public sector, high import duties combined with interventionist policies, leading to massive inefficiencies and widespread corruption. However, later on India adopted free market principles and liberalized its economy to international trade under the guidance of Manmohan Singh, who then was the Finance Minister of India under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao the...
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...The campaign for suffrage - a historical background Today, all British citizens over the age of eighteen share a fundamental human right: the right to vote and to have a voice in the democratic process. But this right is only the result of a hard fought battle. The suffrage campaigners of the nineteenth and early twentieth century struggled against opposition from both parliament and the general public to eventually gain the vote for the entire British population in 1928. ------------------------------------------------- Who took part in the campaign? The first women's suffrage bill came before parliament in 1870. Soon after its defeat, in 1897, various local and national suffrage organisations came together under the banner of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) specifically to campaign for the vote for women on the same terms 'it is or may be granted to men'. The NUWSS was constitutional in its approach, preferring to lobby parliament with petitions and hold public meetings. In contrast, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), formed in 1903, took a more militant view. Almost immediately, it characterised its campaign with violent and disruptive actions and events. Together, these two organisations dominated the campaign for women's suffrage and were run by key figures such as the Pankhurstsand Millicent Fawcett. However, there were other organisations prominent in the campaign, including the Women's Freedom League (WFL). These groups were often...
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...University of Kassel Governance of the World Market: Institutions, Instruments and Experiences (MCC III) Prof. Christoph Scherrer Winter Semester 2015/2016 The Analytical difference in Conceptualising the Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Realist and Materialist Terms Kofi Adu Frimpong Kholmati Kholik Global Political Economy Global Political Economy 33423968 33420343 kadfrimpong@yahoo.com kkholik@gmail.com 15/03/2016 Abstract The so called Euromaidan revolution – Ukraine’s struggle to move one step further to closer ties with Europe by liberating itself from the Russian orbit, have created the Russia-Ukraine Crisis. It has re-established and heightened the tensions between Russia and West. Realism has been on the fore front of the academic discussion in explaining the crisis as the power competition between Russia and the West. Alternatively, Materialism has provided a different yet deeper analytical perspective on the conflict by attributing it to the broadening of the transnational class capitalism. This paper will seek to explain and scrutinize the analytical differences in conceptualizing this crisis in Realist and Materialist terms. Keywords: Ukraine crisis, Realism, Security, Materialism, Lockean heartland, Contender states Table of Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Theoretical framework 5 2.1 Theoretical underpinnings of the Realist school of thought 5 2.2 Theoretical underpinnings of Materialism: Amsterdam School Approach 7 2...
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...Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of June 2011. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts. ISBN: 978-3-935711-79-1 Printed on 100% recycled paper. ©2011 Transparency International. All rights reserved. This report provides a snapshot of how the Transparency International movement was active in the fight against corruption in 2010. For the purpose of conciseness, national chapters, national chapters in formation and national contacts are referred to as chapters, regardless of their status within Transparency International’s accreditation system. Visit www.transparency.org/chapters for their current status. WELCOME During 2010 we continued to see the terrible cost of corruption. Sixty-four million more people were pushed into poverty since the financial crisis struck, according to the World Bank. Such tragedies make us ever more resolved to make a difference through our work. Throughout the year we submitted recommendations to the Group of Twenty to integrate anti-corruption measures...
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